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The Isar is a river in Tyrol, Austria, and
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
, Germany, which is not navigable for watercraft above raft size. Its source is in the Karwendel range of the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
in Tyrol; it enters Germany near Mittenwald and flows through Bad Tölz,
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...
, and Landshut before reaching the
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
near Deggendorf. At in length, it is the fourth largest river in Bavaria, after the Danube, Inn, and Main. It is Germany's second most important tributary of the Danube after the Inn.


Etymology

One theory is that the name ''Isar'' comes from the hypothetical
Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Du ...
root ''*es'' or ''*is'', which generally meant "flowing water" and later turned into a word with a meaning narrowed to frozen water (hence English ''ice'', german: Eis) in
Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic br ...
; the name itself is mentioned for the first time in 763 as ''Isura''. An older theory is that it comes from Celtic words and the name ''Isar'' is a construction of the Celtic stems ''ys'' "fast, torrential" and ''ura'' "water, river". According to another interpretation ''ys'' may mean "high" as well as "low", referring to the rapidly changing water level in the river Isar. In the ancient settlement area of the
Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...
several related river names can be found: * Eisack / Isarco (Italy) * Ésera (Spain) * Isar (Spanish town, in the province of
Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence o ...
) * Isauro / Foglia (Italy) * Isère (France) * Isel (Austria) * IJssel (Netherlands; known to Romans as ''Isala'') * IJzer/Yser (Belgium) * Isonzo (Italy) * Jizera (Czech Republic) It may be possible that the ancient name of the lower part of the river Danube, Ister, has the same source. Newer interpretations relate it to the
Proto-Basque Proto-Basque ( eu, aitzineuskara; es, protoeuskera, protovasco; french: proto-basque), or Pre-Basque, is the reconstructed predecessor of the Basque language before the Roman conquests in the Western Pyrenees. Background The first linguist w ...
particle ''*(w)its-'', "water", also seen in similar but otherwise unexplained river names, such as Vézère,
Vizela Vizela () is a municipality in the Braga District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 23,736, in an area of 24.70 km². The present mayor is Vitor Hugo Salgado, elected as an independent. The municipal holiday is March 19. History In Au ...
,
Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...
and Vistula.


Geography

The Isar drains a substantial part of the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
and parts of the Karwendel mountains northeast towards the Danube river and thus finally towards the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
. Apart from the larger tributaries
Amper The Amper, called the Ammer upstream of the Ammersee, through which it runs, is the largest tributary of the Isar in southern Bavaria, Germany. It flows generally north-eastward, reaching the Isar in Moosburg, about from its source in the Am ...
and Loisach many smaller rivers empty into the Isar, such as the Leutasch, the Jachen, the Dürrach, the
Dorfen Dorfen is a town in the district of Erding, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 50 km east of Munich and 29 km south of Landshut. Transportation Dorfen is situated at the Munich-Mühldorf railway. People * Johann Georg von Di ...
, the
Sempt Sempt is a river of Bavaria, Germany. It flows into the Mittlere-Isar-Kanal, which is connected with the Isar, west of Eching. See also *List of rivers of Bavaria A list of rivers of Bavaria, Germany: A * Aalbach *Abens * Ach * Afferbach ...
, the Pfettrach and the
Gleirschbach The Gleirschbach is a river of Tyrol, Austria, a tributary of the Isar. The Gleirschbach originates north of the alpine hut Pfeishütte. It has a length of app. , of these on the city area of Innsbruck. At the "Möslalm" the Gleirschbach pic ...
. The
drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
contains some 9,000 square kilometers (3,500 square miles). During the winter most of the
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
in the Alps falls as snow. This results in an increased water flow during the spring meltdown. It has an average
discharge Discharge may refer to Expel or let go * Discharge, the act of firing a gun * Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from ser ...
at the mouth of . This makes it comparable to other medium-sized rivers in Germany, like the Moselle, Lech or Main. The official head of the Isar is located in the
Hinterau valley The Hinterau valley (Rear Meadow Valley, German: ''Hinterautal'') is a valley crossing the Karwendel range from east to west. The Isar The Isar is a river in Tyrol, Austria, and Bavaria, Germany, which is not navigable for watercraft above ...
east of the village
Scharnitz Scharnitz is a municipality in the district of Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tyrol located north of Innsbruck and from Seefeld in Tirol on the German border. It is one of the largest municipalities and has 10 parts: Au, Eisack, Gieße ...
in the Karwendel mountains in Tyrol at a height above
sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardis ...
of . In 2003 the Isar spring was “developed”, however, this move has been discussed due to environmental reasons. The Lavatschbach, which is the Isar’s longest headstream, has its source farther to the southeast near a mountain cabin named Hallangerhaus. It is also sometimes called the Isar’s head. Further on the young Isar is supplied water by the Birkkarbach, which has its source at the foot of the highest mountain of the Karwendel, the
Birkkarspitze The Birkkarspitze (2749 m) is the highest mountain in the Karwendel range, Austria as well as an ultra prominent peak. It is located within the Innsbruck-Land District of Tyrol, Austria. See also *List of Alpine peaks by prominence This is a lis ...
and the Moserkarbach. Having entered
Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat ...
after ca. just north of Scharnitz, the Isar is dammed for the first time between Mittenwald and
Krün Krün is a municipality in the Upper Bavarian district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It belongs with Garmisch-Partenkirchen as district capital and cultural center as well as other municipalities to the region Werdenfelser Land. A few kilometers sout ...
. Some of its waters are led via the Rißbach, whose flowing direction was reversed for this purpose, into the
Walchensee Walchensee or Lake Walchen is one of the deepest and largest alpine lakes in Germany, with a maximum depth of and an area of . The lake is south of Munich in the middle of the Bavarian Alps. The entire lake, including the island of Sassau ...
. Here it is fed into the giant downpipes of the Walchensee power plant. 200 metres lower the plant releases this part of the water into the
Kochelsee Kochelsee or Lake Kochel is a lake south of Munich on the edge of the Bavarian Alps. The western 1.7 km² or 28.3 percent of the lake lies within the borders of the town of Schlehdorf, while the rest belongs to Kochel am See. The southern edge o ...
. From here it flows into the river Loisach, Isar's second most important tributary. Not far down the river a large reservoir called
Sylvensteinsee Sylvenstein Dam is an earthen embankment dam in the Isar valley, in the alpine part of Upper Bavaria, Germany which impounds the Sylvenstein Reservoir (german: Sylvensteinspeicher). In the 1920s, several hydropower plants were built in the trib ...
was created between 1954 and 1959 to make more energy generation possible and also to avoid flooding. It is located some south of
Lenggries Lenggries is a municipality and a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the center of the Isarwinkel, the region along the Isar between Bad Tölz and Wallgau. The town has about 9,500 inhabitants. By area, it is the largest rural municipality (" Gemei ...
. It has prevented some bad floods in Munich, for example in 1979, 1999 and most important, in 2005. In that year for the first time ever water had to be released from the lake because its capacity was exhausted. Flooding was barely avoided in Munich, literally 'by the width of one hand'. At Bad Tölz the Isar leaves the
Bavarian Alps The Bavarian Alps (german: Bayerische Alpen) is a collective name for several mountain ranges of the Northern Limestone Alps within the German state of Bavaria. Geography The term in its wider sense refers to that part of the Eastern Alps tha ...
. This town marks the river's transit from its upper to its middle course. It now flows through a sub-alpine, glacial morainic landscape towards Wolfratshausen. Just north of the town it absorbs the Loisach, including the water previously drained off for the power plant. The Isar continues on to and through the Munich gravel plain, into which it cuts a narrow, steeply sloped valley. The latter finally opens up and ends within the city limits of Munich. Further downstream the river passes
Freising Freising () is a university town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Freising ''Landkreis'' (district), with a population of about 50,000. Location Freising is the oldest town between Regensburg and Bolzano, and is located on the ...
and then absorbs the waters of the
Amper The Amper, called the Ammer upstream of the Ammersee, through which it runs, is the largest tributary of the Isar in southern Bavaria, Germany. It flows generally north-eastward, reaching the Isar in Moosburg, about from its source in the Am ...
, its most important tributary, at Moosburg. This is where its lower course begins. Passing Landshut, the river makes its way through the Tertiary Hills of
Lower Bavaria Lower Bavaria (german: Niederbayern, Bavarian: ''Niedabayern'') is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of the state. Geography Lower Bavaria is subdivided into two regions () – Landshut and Donau-W ...
all the way into the Danube valley. Its mouth at the Danube some five kilometres away from Deggendorf is at above sea level. Thus the Isar descends some from its head to its mouth.


Islands

Most of the small islands and gravel banks keep changing shape and size due to the annual floods. Some of the islands within the bigger cities were built up during the 19th century and thus protected against the abrasive powers of the water. Among those are the Museumsinsel (on which the
Deutsches Museum The Deutsches Museum (''German Museum'', officially (English: ''German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology'')) in Munich, Germany, is the world's largest museum of science and technology, with about 28,000 exhibited objects from ...
is located); formerly this island was called Kohleninsel (coal island), the Praterinsel (both located in Munich) and the Mühleninsel in Landshut.


History

It is quite likely that the Isar was used as a trade route, even in prehistoric times, to transport wares from the Alps and even
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
towards the Danube with rafts. An existing trade road from the Inn valley across Seefelder Pass into the northern foothills of the alps was built up and called Via Raetia by the Romans. The town of Mittenwald thus became an important trade post in the Werdenfelser Land. At a few places the Romans built wooden bridges across the ''Isara'' so they could cross the river with its strong currents more easily. One of these could have been along the Roman road from
Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...
to
Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
south of contemporary Munich. Thus trade traffic could easily be controlled and income from tolls was frequent and regular. The medieval foundation of the cities of Munich and Landshut are directly connected with the building of bridges and the resulting conflicts concerning power and influence on the economy. Due to the continuing growth of the cities there was a constant demand for timber and lime, which resulted in an increase of commercial rafting. Beginning in the 17th century wares like Mediterranean fruit, spices, cotton and silk from the ''Venetian Market'' in Mittenwald were transported down the Isar and Danube all the way to
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
and
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...
. During the 19th century when commercial rafting was at its peak, some 8,000 rafts arrived in Munich each year. Since the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
water mills were working at the banks of the Isar by hydro mechanical power. To ensure a more constant flow for the mills the water in Munich was led into small canals. The canals were also used to provide freshwater to the population of the city and also the numerous
tanneries Tanning may refer to: * Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather * Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun ** Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dy ...
of the city and to fill the protecting ditches located outside the medieval town wall. During the annual floodings cities along the Isar were flooded again and again, causing severe damage and even killing people. In 1813 a bridge in Munich collapsed during a flood, killing more than 100 people who were watching the flooding from the bridge. From 1806 on, the banks of the river were fixed and the river was canalized. This led to its deeper digging into the river bed due to its flowing faster. Further extensive measures have been taken since the 1920s to install hydroelectric power plants. From 1954 to 1959 the then much-disputed Sylvensteinspeicher was built for the generation of electricity and for protection against floodings. The village of Fall was drowned in the reservoir. When the water level in the reservoir is very low the church tower can still be seen sticking out of the water. Only over the last few years the Isar was partly turned back from a canal into a more natural river. At the lower Isar between Moosburg and
Plattling Plattling is a town in the district of Deggendorf, Bavaria, Germany, on the river Isar, 9 km southwest of Deggendorf, just before it enters the Danube. Attractions Romanesque Jewel – Church Saint Jakob Romanesque pillars basilica with ...
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
was washed from the river’s sediments during the 16th and 17th century. However, there was no big economic revenue in this due to the minor amounts of the metal found in the river. Following their executions on October 16, 1946, the ashes of the convicted
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
war criminals Joachim von Ribbentrop,
Hans Frank Hans Michael Frank (23 May 1900 – 16 October 1946) was a German politician and lawyer who served as head of the General Government in Nazi-occupied Poland during the Second World War. Frank was an early member of the German Workers' Par ...
, Wilhelm Keitel,
Alfred Jodl Alfred Josef Ferdinand Jodl (; 10 May 1890 – 16 October 1946) was a German '' Generaloberst'' who served as the chief of the Operations Staff of the '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' – the German Armed Forces High Command – throughout Worl ...
, Alfred Rosenberg,
Ernst Kaltenbrunner Ernst Kaltenbrunner (4 October 190316 October 1946) was a high-ranking Austrian SS official during the Nazi era and a major perpetrator of the Holocaust. After the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942, and a brief period under Heinrich Hi ...
, Wilhelm Frick, Arthur Seyss-Inquart,
Fritz Sauckel Ernst Friedrich Christoph "Fritz" Sauckel (27 October 1894 – 16 October 1946) was a German Nazi politician, ''Gauleiter'' of Gau Thuringia from 1927 and the General Plenipotentiary for Labour Deployment (''Arbeitseinsatz'') from March 1942 unti ...
and
Julius Streicher Julius Streicher (12 February 1885 – 16 October 1946) was a member of the Nazi Party, the '' Gauleiter'' (regional leader) of Franconia and a member of the '' Reichstag'', the national legislature. He was the founder and publisher of the vir ...
were scattered in the Isar, as were those of Hermann Göring who had committed suicide the previous night in defiance of his scheduled execution.


Environmental issues

Since the 1920s the water of the Isar has been used for the generation of electricity. This has had far-reaching consequences not only for the local fauna and flora but also for people. To provide the 28 hydroelectric power plants with enough water power the river’s water is diverted several times and almost the whole river was canalized. For example, just north of Mittenwald all the river’s water was diverted to the lake
Walchensee Walchensee or Lake Walchen is one of the deepest and largest alpine lakes in Germany, with a maximum depth of and an area of . The lake is south of Munich in the middle of the Bavarian Alps. The entire lake, including the island of Sassau ...
in 1923 for the Walchensee hydroelectric plant. Since 1990 a small portion of the water, 4 cubic meters per second (1100 U.S. gallons per second) is allowed to remain in the river to keep the area from being dry. The construction of the Sylvenstein Dam and numerous regulations relating to the river (pushed through in the early 19th century) have strongly enhanced its character. The construction of the Sylvenstein dam has prevented the river from overflowing its banks. Lately, there have been attempts to bring the Isar closer back to a natural character. For example, since May, 2000, the river is being re-naturalized in the southern part of the river’s passage through the city of Munich, between Großhesseloher Brücke and Reichenbachbrücke. To achieve this the riverbed is being widened, the banks are flattened and small gravel islands are built along with near-natural ramps to slow the waterflow. Also, the dams are enlarged in width and height. Besides an improved protection against flooding the river was, thus, brought into an almost natural state and this resulted in an improved quality of the recreational area within the city of Munich. The quality of the water has also improved due to the upgrading of the sewage plants along the river. The number of germs, however, is still relatively high. Together with other cities and communities along the Isar, Munich has set a goal to reduce the number of germs until the water quality is good enough to allow bathing in the river. If this is achieved, Munich would be one of the few big cities in Europe with a river with water of good enough quality to allow swimming in it. The sewer plants on the upper river are now treating the sewage with
ultraviolet Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30  PHz) to 400 nm (750  THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation ...
light, which greatly reduces the number of germs, but still the Isar cannot be guaranteed safe to bathe in because of the entrance of polluted rainwater into the river, especially during strong precipitation. There are a number of natural reservations along the Isar, including special protection areas for birds, for example the natural reserve ''Vogelfreistätte Mittlere Isarstauseen'' northeast of Moosburg. This area is an important resting place for migrating water birds. There has been evidence for more than 260 different species of birds, among them rare species like the common tern and the bluethroat. To preserve the beauty of the Isar valley Gabriel von Seidl founded the ''Isartalverein'' in 1902. This first civil initiative from Munich purchased of land, and today maintains more than of hiking trails.


Recreation

There are several areas along the river Isar that have been designated since the 1960s as nudist resorts. However, along much of its banks, even within the city of Munich, people can be seen skinny-dipping wherever they please.


Notes


References


External links


Tourist Information: Sights of Munich (Isar)
{{Authority control Rivers of Bavaria Rivers of Tyrol (state) International rivers of Europe Rivers of Austria Rivers of Germany Braided rivers in Europe